Powder-container top.



N0. 637,5l4. Patented Nov. 2|, I899.

l. a. LEEK. POWDER CONTAINER TOP.

' (Applicution filed Oct. 15, 1897.)

(No Modal.)

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

IRA G. LEEK, OF SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA.

POWDER-CONTAINER TOP.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 637,514, dated November 21, 1899.

Application filed October 15, 1897. Serial No. 655,347. (No model.)

To aZZ whom it may concern: 7

Be it known that I, IRA G. LEEK, of the city' and county of San Francisco, in the State of California, have invented an Improvement in Powder-Container Tops; and I hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description thereof.

My invention relates to that class of containers for holding tooth-powder and other powders for individual use and having movable tops adapted to permit a limited quantity of the powder to be discharged therethrough at a single operation.

The class of containers to which my invention is especially applicable have heretofore been made cylindrical,and the tops have been formed with a cylindrical neck in which slides a cylindrical tube having a lateral opening for discharging the powder shaken from the container into the tube. When the container is closed, the aperture in the tube is wholly hidden by the neck, and thus there is great liability of withdrawing the tube when the aperture is in its underside, in which case the powder falls out, probably not in the place intended. For instance, supposing it is desired to depositasmall quantity of the powder on a tooth-brush, this practically can only be done by withdrawing the tube with the aperture upward and then turning it down, so V as to discharge the powder upon the brush; but the tube cannot always with certainty be withdrawn with the aperture upward. This inconvenience and source of loss is not avoided by the fact that the cylindrical retainer itself generally has an inscription thereon which might indicate which is the upper side, for the tube and neckboth being cylindrical the tube is revoluble in the neck and is liable to change its position therein around the axis from one operation to another, so that there is no certainty from any particular part of the printed matter lying upward that the aperture will also lie upward.

One object of my invention has been to remove this objection, so that it can always be insured from the examination of the inscription or other distinguishing mark on the container that the aperture is on the upper side of the tube.

A further object of the invention is to provide a more accurate measuring device than those heretofore in use.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective View of the top applied to a can with the measuring device open. Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the upper part of such can with the measuring device closed, part of the side of the can being broken away; and Figs. 3 and 4 are perspective views of the top and sliding tube detached, respectively.

A represents the body of the can; B, the pyramidal or conoidal top, and G a contracted neck extending therefrom. The outer end of the neck 0 is partially closed by a trans verse wall D, and through the remainder or open portion E of said end there slides a semicylindrical trough G, fitting snugly in the extension G, the outer end of said trough car= ryinga cap F,which when the trough is pushed in closes over the end of the neck 0.

H is a stop for limiting the movement of the trough.

In operation the can is inverted and slightly shaken, and the contents will then fall into the neck. Then by withdrawing the trough with the proper side up a full measure will be exposed and may be readily discharged for use without exposing the remaining contents.

By the construction of the semicylindrical trough and-the wall D the trough is prevented from rotating in the neck, so that by looking at the inscription on the container the trough can always be withdrawn with the open side up. Moreover, the powder can be readily discharged in exactlymeasured quantities by turning the trough over.

I claim- The combination of a cylindrical container, a cylindrical neck extending from one end thereof, a trough open on one side and the other side being of cylindrical curvature to slide snugly Within the cylindrical neck, and a transverse wall closing the end of said neck above said trough and preventing the trough from revolving on its axis in the neck, sub stantially as described.

In witness whereof Ihave hereunto set my hand this 8th day of October, 1897.

IRA G. LEEK.

Witnesses:

A. J. HENRY, O. H. PHILLIPS. 

